News Search

Barings finances £200m Spinningfields deal

Barings Real Estate has financed the £201m acquisition of No. 1 Spinningfields in Manchester, by a joint venture set up and managed by Schroder Real Estate Investment Management, with an £81m facility.

Barings also recently provided £34.7m of development finance to fund the acquisition of a build-to-rent residential project in Greater Manchester, meaning over £100m has been committed to debt transactions in Manchester in recent months. In addition, on the equity side of the business, Barings is currently developing Landmark, a 180,000 sq ft office scheme in St. Peter’s Square, Manchester on behalf of an institutional investor.

Chris Bates, Head of Core Mortgage Europe at Barings Real Estate, said: “We are strong advocates of the Manchester market and are delighted to have supported such a high quality sponsor as Schroders on their acquisition of this Grade A property. We continue to see opportunities across both the senior fixed rate and structured areas of the debt market and look forward to continuing the expansion of our debt platform in 2018.”

Schroder Real Estate alongside Finnish pension manager Ilmarinen and another unnamed global institutional investor bought No. 1 Spinningfields in Manchester in November for more than £200m, reflecting a net initial yield of 5%.

No 1 Spinningfields, developed by Allied London in partnership with Manchester City Council, comprises 308,000 sq ft of mixed-use principally office accommodation. Its largest office occupier is PwC with 87% let prior to practical completion.

The Spinningfields masterplan was drawn up in 1997 by Allied London with the intention to regenerate 22 acres of land sandwiched between Deansgate and the River Irwell, creating a new and vibrant commercial area for Manchester.